Some links for Saturday..
- Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer hears that Eric Wedge is taking this year off by choice. The former Indians skipper, who is still under contract with the club for one more year, was connected to the Mets' bench coach job for a while.
- The strong play of Nats rookie shortstop Ian Desmond could bump Cristian Guzman from the starting lineup, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. However, it will be difficult for Washington will find a taker for Guzman's $8MM salary.
- Newly acquired Dodger Garret Anderson knows that he's fighting for a very limited role with club, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Anderson played in 135 games for the Braves last season, hitting .268/.303/.401 with 13 HRs.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Giants pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim has the right to opt out of his contract on March 15th if he doesn't think he'll make the 25-man roster. The 31-year-old – who last pitched in the majors in 2007 – signed a minor league deal with San Francisco in February.
- Bobby Valentine told Marlins beat reporters that he was never spoke with club owner Jeffrey Loria about managing the team, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Bobby V said the speculation was unfair to skipper Fredi Gonzalez, who led guided Florida to 87 wins and a second-place finish in the NL East.
- Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said that the club wants to look at internal candidates first if Brandon Webb is unable to start the regular season, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Byrnes added that the club, as always, will keep an eye on the waiver wire as Spring Training winds down (also via Twitter).
- Despite the impressive play of Josh Bell, Miguel Tejada will be the Orioles' starting third baseman barring a "dramatic" event, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun. The O's signed Tejada to a one-year, $6MM deal in late January.
- Joe Posnanski takes a look at the history of the Rule 5 draft. Fun Fact: The Rule 5 draft goes back more than 100 years.
The Diamondbacks should look at MLBTR’s “Out Of Options” page. I bet that if Jarrod Parker wasn’t injured the Diamondbacks would feel much better.
Josh Bell is the man and could get called up if Luke Scott gets traded. I could see him kind of like Gordon Beckham of last season. Maybe switching positions to accomodate the Orioles.
Good job letting Bell go Dodger’s.. we coulda used him next season
Same thing with Carlos Santana. I would much rather see Santana and Bell at third and Catcher in 2011 then Blake and Martin.
I like Santana but I don’t like the idea of a rookie catcher catching young, up and coming pitchers because we should hopefully have alot of rookie pitchers making their way to the majors soon
Unless of course the Dodgers trade for Adrian Gonzalez.
Well thats a different story
Bell made it look easy when he got 2 home runs in the game I saw Wednesday.
Didn’t Barajas sign with the Mets? But the O’s are absolutely using Tejada and Garret Atkins as a bridge to their next generation of players. So I can’t really blame them for brining Tejada back for a veteran clubhouse presence. He may struggle with the move to 3rd though.
Yep, signed to one year deals just in case there are any setbacks. I think Scott was being shopped around last season, so there might be a spot opening soon.
1) However, it will be difficult for Washington will find a taker for Guzman’s $8MM salary.
2) knows that he’s fighting for a very limited role with club,
3) was never spoke with club owner Jeffrey Loria
4) Fredi Gonzalez, who led guided Florida to 87 wins
Wow. Four grammar mistakes in one post. MLBTR is usually way better than that.
why would washington consider trying to make someone take the $8m salary?
i don’t understand why so many people miss the concept of “sunk costs.” they’re on the hook for the $8m. if they can’t trade away the whole $8m, they can eat some of that cost and get whatever they can. most teams don’t look at this as “all or nothing.” look at the boston/texas trade for lowell (that didn’t go thru because of the physical). boston ate $9m of the $12m left in salary to move him and get a prospect.
that’s exactly what the nats should and would do if they moved guzman. you eat whatever salary it takes to get a decent prospect for him. if they don’t, they pay guzman the full amount and get nothing in return. it’s a sunk cost, you eat what’s necessary to make a deal if you feel it’s time to move him and he’s overpaid. better to save $2m and get a prospect than spend the full $8 and get nothing.